One man blew himself up after a brief rooftop confrontation with police.

Security forces believe the militants were planning large attacks

According to interior ministry officials quoted by the Associated Press news agency, another man shot dead in the raid was found to have explosives on his body.

As police combed the area later that afternoon, a third man blew himself up after reportedly jumping from a balcony.

The blast also killed a policeman and left another hurt.

A fourth suspected militant blew himself up later after approaching a police cordon.

A woman who witnessed the police raid said she saw a suspect "on the ground, dead, with his backpack on".

Another witness, a man, said he saw a suspect cornered on a rooftop.

"Two police inspectors turned up. They were below him, below a wall. When they were about to hit him, he blew himself up in front of our eyes. Everything went red."

Your comments

The situation is calm in the city, events occurred in the outskirts of Casablanca 15km from downtown.Ali Amar, Casablanca, Morocco

This, yet again, just proves how effective both Moroccan intelligence services and the police are - let alone the general public. I feel safer here than anywhere in Europe. James Cutting, Marrakech, Morocco

Oh my god, I am so scared and shocked by these terrible actions. Hopefully this will be the last bomb I see in my life because seriously I cannot stand this anymore. Please help us find a solution to end this problem.larbi, Casablanca